Incursion
by One Nutty Tree
Summary: This is my interpretation of the start of series 5 and it picks up right where the previous one left off, a day after those events.
1. Chapter 1

Abby was worried. The anomaly had opened ages ago and Connor was not here. Yesterday he seemed to have disappeared altogether after solving the riddle of the projected anomalies. He hadn't come home to Jess's flat that night. They'd had little time to go searching for a flat of their own what with all the recent creature incursions and anomalies. It seemed to be getting worse.

Jess had suggested that maybe he was working late at Prospero when Abby voiced her worries. It wouldn't have been the first time. Sometimes Abby felt that Connor spent more time with his boss Phillip Burton than with her. However this behaviour was not like him.

"Abby!" called Matt. "I need to tell you something."

He strode past the glittering anomaly surrounded by Becker's men. He had to step over parts of the roof that remained broken on the floor.

This old warehouse had been abandoned for years and had fallen into disrepair. It made everyone's job easier. No civilians to deal with. However it did add to the creepiness factor. Abby shivered as she stared into the dimly lit storage space. There was also no sign of a creature – yet. But they needed Connor to lock the anomaly all the same in case one tried to come through.

"Come with me." Matt commanded.

Abby followed him outside. The warehouse was on a barren hill looking down on the fields of countryside. A single road wound round the hill and ran by the fields like a river. There was one way in, one way out. There may have been no civilians for miles but a creature could be hiding anywhere. A party of men were searching through the fields as she thought this. From this high view point Abby could see their black uniform clearly amongst the rye. She turned to Matt and was surprised.

"Matt what is it? Why is –" she began.

Before Abby could reveal anything to Jess Matt removed her earpiece as he had already done.

"Danny told me to pass on a message. Phillip is not to be trusted."

Abby had never liked Phillip and reckoned she could trust him about as far as she could throw him but Danny had never even met the man before yesterday.

"What made him say that?"

"He said that Phillip knew Helen Cutter." Matt explained.

"We need to tell Connor." Abby decided. "Why didn't you tell me earlier?"

"I – didn't have time." replied Matt.

For a minute it looked as if he'd been about to admit to something else but had changed his mind.

"Why not?" Abby questioned, Matt was up to something.

"That's not important now. We're running out of time. Jess will be getting suspicious," Abby already knew that Jess had been suspicious of Matt's activities for a long time now. She had reason to believe that he occasionally turned off his black box, an incredibly stupid thing to do as far as she was concerned. "We need to put our earpieces back in."

Before Abby could argue he put his earpiece back on handing her hers.

"Abby, Matt you need to get out of there!" came Jess's voice.

The pair looked at each other, then at the warehouse. A fully grown sabre-tooth tiger smashed through the window and came roaring towards them, claws at the ready. Its eyes were wild as it pounced. Then it fell mid-spring as the light disappeared from its eyes. Becker stood behind it by the warehouse doors cocking his tranquilizer. It was impressive that he was there at all having been shot by Patrick only the day before.

"Aren't you meant to be resting?" asked Abby.

"Aren't you meant to have guns?" Becker retorted unaware that they'd left them in the warehouse because of their private chat. "Lester said he needed someone to bring the locking mechanism down here since Connor's doing stuff at Prospero."

Abby and Matt exchanged glances. That was not a good sign.

Together the three of them walked back into the warehouse. All the men lay dead on the floor, their bodies severely mauled. It was a gruesome sight to behold. With such serious injuries it was impossible for any of the men to have survived. Matt and Abby hadn't even heard gun shots. The attack had been silent, vicious and impossibly fast. The soldiers had had no time to fight back. Becker handpicked his men. Right now he was very angry.

"They're all dead." he informed Jess.

"We need to get the tiger back through the anomaly." said Matt.

"Why can't we just kill it before it comes round and does what it did to my men?" Becker questioned fiercely.

"Because I won't let you." reminded Abby.

Becker was seething but he knew from experience that he'd never be able to change her mind.

"So how do we get it back through?" he quizzed, consenting to this option for the time being.

"We could drive it through." Matt suggested.

Half an hour later everything was set up. After a considerable amount of effort the sabre tooth lay strung up on top of the car. Matt was at the wheel and Becker stood by the car side ready to shoot if necessary. The only problem was Abby.

"You've seen Connor use the locking mechanism so many times and yet you still can't work it?" Jess shrieked incredulously through the earpiece.

"Whoa Jess! Do you know how to use it?" asked Matt.

"Theoretically yes." she confirmed.

"Then you can instruct Abby." And with that thought he drove through the anomaly. Theoretically was the best they could get for the moment. Besides, what's life like without a little risk? Once out the other side he cut down the unconscious tiger not bothering to examine his surroundings. Matt had been through an anomaly before, now he felt that he'd seen as much of these environments as was entirely necessary. He just wanted to get his job done. He clambered back into the car and drove back through; just out of the corner of his eye he saw the creature's claw stir. Then he was on the other side of the anomaly, he was back home. He got out of the car and ran over to join Abby who was staring at the locking mechanism in confusion. "Jess hurry, I saw that cat move its claw. It'll come round soon." Matt warned.

"Okay okay! Right, Abby open the red lid." instructed Jess.

"It's already open." Abby remarked.

"Oh. Erm...in that case search for a yellowy grey button about as big as your palm."

"Yellowy grey?" mouthed Becker.

The soldier was becoming increasingly worried about their chances of survival. Matt shrugged in response.

"Got it. Now what?" declared Abby.

"Slam it down!"

So she did. Nothing happened.

"Did it work?" inquired Jess hopefully.

"No."

A roar came from the anomaly.

"You must be pressing the wrong button, try the big red one to your left." Jess insisted.

Becker aimed his gun at the anomaly as Abby pushed the red button. The anomaly shrunk and locked. She let out a sigh of relief.

"Guys? Did it work?" probed Jess anxiously.

"Yes Jess you're brilliant!" complimented Becker.

Abby smiled, knowing how much a compliment from him would mean to Jess.

"Cut it a bit fine though." Lester's voice softly mentioned in the background. "Is Connor the only person who can work these things?"

"Sarah could do it." Becker remembered fondly. "She said you just had to press a few buttons, Connor's ego was crushed."

"Who's Sarah?" questioned a curious and slightly jealous Jess.

"Her file got deleted some time after she – died." Becker expressed choking on the final word. "Some idiot wanted to create more memory space and decided she wasn't important enough to keep." he explained bitterly.

They left for the ARC in their cars after a minute of silence for the dead soldiers. They couldn't bury them but felt that the men deserved some respect. Abby texted Connor before getting into her car.

_Where r u!_


	2. Chapter 2

By the time they arrived at the ARC Abby still hadn't got a reply. She joined Jess by the computer screens.

"Who's Sarah?" chirped Jess.

"An archaeologist I suppose. She came here after an incident at the museum where she worked." Abby replied automatically.

"What happened to her?"

"I don't know." Abby admitted.

"Neither do I - Becker won't talk about it." Jess added. "Whoever she was he misses her." Abby stared into space, deep in thought. She wasn't really listening to Jess. "Are you thinking about Connor?"

This comment however got through.

"Yes. He's been ignoring my texts which he never does and you know he didn't come home last night."

"Maybe you should try calling him."

"I have, five times by now."

"Well..." Jess pondered unsure of what else to suggest. "Abby so long as he's got his black box I can track him."

Abby broke out of her concerned daydream and looked at Jess.

"You can do that?"

"Yes. Don't look so surprised!"

Jess started typing and a few seconds later a red circle appeared on screen. It was labelled: Connor Temple. It hovered on the map displayed by the computer screen.

"That's weird – " Jess frowned. "His black box is in his office according to this."

She turned to Abby but she'd already gone.

Abby entered Connor's office in anticipation. Phillip had never approved of her coming in here but Connor always had. The look of childish glee on his face was adorable as he showed off.

"Connor?" she called.

There was no reply. He was not here. The desk was drowning in clutter, this was the messiest she'd seen it. A whiteboard stood in the corner of the room covered in equations. Abby stepped towards it and tripped over Connor's black box. What was it doing on the floor? She grabbed hold of the desk and pulled herself up to face his laptop. Now she knew he'd been onto something. Cutter's anomaly diagram was on the screen before her. Connor had finally re-constructed it! Abby laughed out loud. He'd been searching for this answer for so long! This meant something. He would've told Phillip if he hadn't already. Abby felt a sinking feeling in her stomach at this thought.

_He would've told Phillip._

But what did it mean? Cutter had kept a lot of things to himself.

"Abby? You're not allowed in here. I'm sorry but you're going to have to leave." said Phillip.

Abby turned, she was caught red-handed.

Phillip Burton stood in the doorway, his tall silhouette managing to look quite menacing as he blocked her only escape route.

"Where's Connor?" Abby questioned.

"At Prospero. Surely Becker told you that?" Phillip stated simply. "Come away Abby."

"I'm not budging until I see Connor."

"I'm afraid you have no choice in the matter."

The man stepped to one side to reveal an armed soldier behind him. Abby was manhandled back into the main room. If anybody noticed they didn't say anything. What could they say when Phillip was in charge of this whole operation?

"There was that really so difficult?" Burton smiled.

"What have you done with Connor?"

"He has chosen to work for my company full time. Didn't you know?" he replied with infuriating innocence.

Abby didn't believe him for one second. Connor would've told her if he'd made such a big decision. But work had been taking him over lately...Filled with a new confusion Abby walked back over to Jess.

"What did you find?" Jess whispered, aware that Phillip was still watching them.

"Another empty room." Abby replied glumly. "Phillip says Connor is working for Prospero full-time."

"Well you can't trust him! Matt told me what Danny said."

Abby felt suspicious again, so Matt had found time to tell Jess too?

* * *

><p>Connor was no longer sure where he was. He'd been working on his new invention for so long that he'd stopped paying attention to the time or place. All that mattered was that he finished this device.<p>

Connor had arrived at Prospero the evening before, worrying about the anomalies. After that everything was a blur. Phillip had told him something important, it had scared him out of his wits at the time but now he couldn't even remember what had been said.

He'd been working on his creation throughout the night and into the next morning. As a result he was clumsier than normal. He didn't spot the flashing of his phone to show he had a message or the uncanny familiarity of what he was building. He was so tired. Connor rubbed his eyes and added an extra component to his work in progress. He'd be able to sleep once his latest gadget was complete; no sooner, no later.

Phillip promptly entered the room.

"How is it coming along?" he asked.

"It's nearly finished. I just need to add some final touches and then it'll be ready for testing." Connor confirmed.

"Will your contraption be – how should I put it? Environmentally friendly?"

"It shouldn't cause any anomaly interference if that's what you mean."

"Good." congratulated Phillip.

Connor swayed on his feet as he closed his eyes. His boss noted this, but didn't seem to particularly care.

"Yeah." he agreed quietly, opening them.

"You should check your messages. Abby is worried sick." Phillip reminded him.

Connor plucked his mobile phone from his pocket and dialled Abby's number. No matter how tired he felt he knew Phillip was right.


	3. Chapter 3

Abby's ringtone blasted through the ARC attracting many irritated glances. But she didn't want to miss Connor if he did call her. Mouthing sorry at her various co-workers she picked up her phone, saw who was calling and answered it instantly.

"Hi Abby it's Connor." he greeted.

"Connor! Where the hell have you been?" she queried in relief.

Jess looked up at Abby on hearing this news. Connor on the other side of the line however looked at the room he stood in. The white lab floor was almost as cluttered as his office desk back at the ARC.

"I'm not sure." he admitted.

"Are you at Prospero?"

"Could be. That name rings a bell." Connor deadpanned.

"How can you not know where you are?" asked Abby in frustration.

"Sorry." Connor paused, accidentally allowing the drowsiness to consume him before continuing. "I'm just so tired!"

"Come home then and get some sleep!" Abby encouraged, barely hiding her alarm at how exhausted he sounded.

"No. I need to get this done." he declared.

"Get what done?"

"You wouldn't understand."

Connor hung up.

Abby knew with a grim sense of conviction that even if she'd told him of Danny's message; it wouldn't have sunk in considering his current mental state. She'd hoped that a call from him would reassure her, now she was more worried than ever.

"He's hung up on me." she reported to nobody in particular.

"Okay I've got the location." Jess acknowledged.

"Of what?"

"I just tracked your boyfriend's phonecall."

This took a few seconds to sink in. A look of wonder slowly spread over Abby's face as she realised what this meant.

"Jess you are amazing!"

"All in a day's work. He should be just...here!" she smugly explained gesturing to a building now mapped out on the screen. "I'll send you the co-ordinates."

"Thanks." Abby expressed gratefully.

She left the ARC at a fast walk, not wanting to raise suspicion then ran as soon as she was out of view. She raced to her car and jumped in. Abby put her foot down, her earpiece in and she was off.

Becker, who'd witnessed the whole exchange, joined Jess by the computer screens. He'd been watching the couple ever since Abby's mobile went off. He was many things, but he wasn't stupid.

"What's going on?"

Jess nearly jumped out of her seat in surprise.

"Oh erm – stuff. Nothing important." she remarked nervously scratching her nose.

Nose scratching was a signature sign of lying, along with the rest of her disastrous body language. Becker saw right through her.

"You're a rubbish liar Jess. Matt told me about Danny's message. Tell me what's happening." Becker observantly noted that she was wearing a comm. If his instinct was correct Abby could hear Jess's every splutter. "Jess I'm head of security around here. If there's a problem I should know about it."

"You might as well tell him if Matt passed on Danny's message to him Jess." prompted Abby, her voice echoing through the earpiece.

No longer bothering to be surprised by Matt's strange behaviour she kept her eyes on the road as she listened to Jess's guilty confession. Abby tried to concentrate on the increasingly nagging Satnav at the same time, wherever Connor was it was proving difficult to find. Or maybe that was just due to her multitasking.

"- and so Abby has gone to find Connor." Jess finished.

Becker turned on his comm placing it in his ear. He wanted to make sure Abby heard what he was about to say. Sure enough, it came through crystal clear.

"Let me get this straight. Abby has gone into enemy territory to retrieve her boyfriend. This enemy territory is heavily guarded and contains a powerfully dangerous man who is connected to a psychotic scientist. Abby is armed with her comm, a car and no back up?" Becker summarised angrily.

"No, not exactly." Abby replied. "I am go_ing _into enemy territory."

"What does the tense matter? Either way you're being incredibly reckless and stupid!" Becker exploded.

Fortunately to curious onlookers it just appeared that he was giving Jess a good telling off.

"You sound just like Lester!" Jess squeaked as her crush raged.

"I think Danny must have rubbed off on me." Abby commented.

Becker stood there, the anger plain on his face. He fumed in silence for a few seconds before letting it go. Temporarily.

"Just this once I think you two are both right." he agreed.

Jess instantly calmed down and Abby's smirk was almost tangible. Becker gritted his teeth. He knew that there was a time to hold petty grudges later, there was something far more important at stake.

Abby finally found Prospero. She parked just down the road before creeping up to get a closer look at the strange white building. It was huge! Becker however had been wrong about the security. There was little need for armed guards considering the large metal fence that boxed in the complex and the discreet CCTV cameras. However there were a few by the entrance gate wearing the Prospero logo on their uniform.

The familiar picture was of a test tube tilted onto its side with an eyebrow above it to form a curiously shaped eye. It was meant to represent a 'scientific outlook'. Abby knew all this because she'd made the mistake of listening to Connor ramble on appraisingly about his work. Now however she was glad she'd listened. Maybe the information Connor had given her could help her to break in. She racked her brains for several silent minutes before giving up. She'd never paid _that _much attention. She made a mental note to do so when she got her boyfriend back.

"Guys I've arrived, any suggestions on how to get in?"

The easiest way is by the front door." Jess informed her as she examined the building via Google earth.

"But I don't have any ID, at this place they'll be sure to check for that." argued Abby.

"Does Prospero ever receive deliveries?" Becker pondered.

"According to the website they have the latest technology so they must do." Jess answered.

"Maybe you could impersonate a delivery girl and claim to have lost your ID?" Becker suggested.

Abby jumped as a hand touched her shoulder. She whirled round in a defensive pose.

"Abby what are you doing here?" exclaimed Matt.

She glanced at his clothes and smirked.

"I might ask you the same thing."

"Abby what's going on?" demanded Becker aware that she was talking to someone else.

Abby critically examined the team leader in amusement. He was wearing a red delivery boy uniform along with a dorky cap to match his red face. She also noted a fake ID tag clipped to his belt.

"Matt's here."

"What's he doing there?"

"He's wearing a delivery boy outfit coupled with an ID tag."

Jess stifled a laugh. She couldn't quite imagine quiet, serious Matt dressed like that.

"Sounds like he's one step ahead of us. Get him to put his comm. on, I want to hear this excuse." Becker demanded.

"Matt put your earpiece in." Abby passed on.

"Why?"

"Becker wants to hear your excuse for..." she paused, unable to sum up Matt's fashion sense. "this." She gestured finally.

"Technically he should be answering to me." Matt muttered as he turned on his comm.

"I heard that."

Ignoring this comment Matt started to explain.


	4. Chapter 4

"After Danny's message I did a bit of background research on Phillip and his company. The records I found were useful but not very recent. The best way to find out what Burton means for the future is to go inside Prospero so I came up with a plan and here I am."

"What part of team do you not understand!" Becker demanded.

"So that's why you didn't have enough time to tell me about Danny!" murmured Abby in realisation.

She'd been busy in the creature menagerie for the majority of that day whilst Becker and Jess had been relatively free in the main room going about business as normal. The only place Matt would be able to find out so much was at the ARC.

"Becker I'm going in whether you like it or not." Matt argued firmly.

"Well I'm going in with you." Abby announced.

She could tell from one glance at his face he was not keen on this idea. He'd wanted to do this on his own, hence all the secrecy. Becker was right though, they were a team.

"Abby – " Matt began, but Abby didn't let him finish.

"Connor is in there. I'm not going to sit back and watch."

"How are you going to get in? It's Matt who has the ID." Jess reminded her.

"I have a plan."

10 minutes later a small BMW pulled up by the gate entrance. The young man who sat inside rolled down the window and showed his ID to one of the security guards.

"Hello. I'm Matt Anderson, here to deliver. I've got quite a bit of technology in the boot, it's rather fragile so I'd rather get in sooner than later."

The guard examined the ID closely before nodding. He gestured to another man who opened the gate.

"Head right on in, take a left at the carpark and you should be able to drop everything off there." he directed.

Matt drove in and parked by the delivery area the guard had described. He got out of the car and rushed to the boot. As the boot opened Abby sat up making the most of the fresh air. She dangled her legs on the edge of the boot before sliding out. Together the pair began searching for some back door.

"Go into the storage area. There should be a way in there." Jess instructed.

Sure enough they found it.

As they entered the Prospero building for the first time they were faced with space. There was an extraordinary amount of it. The place looked like a bigger version of the ARC in structural aspects. In the middle of the ground floor sat a reception desk. In front of it was space stretching out to the entrance doors they'd carefully avoided. Behind it were busy employees at work on computers. By the door they stood at there was a map of Prospero. There were at least four floors to the gigantic place. Abby and Matt looked at each other.

"We need to split up." they announced in unison.

"Don't you dare!" Becker growled. "Abby you need all the help you can get. Plus I don't think I trust Matt to act responsibly on his own."

"You sound like his mother!" Jess laughed.

Matt winced, his mother was dead and even she'd trusted him more than Becker. She had to; he was one of the chosen few from the future who had to save the world. So many lives were in his hands. They needed to do this properly.

"You'll do a more thorough job together." Becker encouraged, ignoring Jess's last comment.

"Fine. Come on Matt, the map says level four consists of ARC related research." Abby said dragging him towards a nearby lift.

"Abby no, take the stairs. I have no desire to bump into Phillip on our way up!" Matt hissed.

* * *

><p>Connor lay on the floor half buried in the mess of his own clutter. He had a feeling that he was supposed to be worrying about something but he couldn't remember what. He'd finished his invention, so now he could sleep.<p>

As a result Connor never saw Phillip enter the room. Burton laughed at Connor's snoring, he had expected no less of the young man. His boss made his way towards Connor's invention wading through the mess. Phillip picked up the newly made solution and broke it in half. He picked up one of the pieces he'd split it into and left.

"I'll see you again soon Helen." Phillip murmured as he left the room with Connor's remote control part of the contraption in his hand.

Shortly afterwards Matt and Abby found Connor like this. At first Abby was worried and recklessly ran towards Connor. She was lucky the room was desserted apart from him. There was no CCTV, Phillip evidently thought that Connor was his, or maybe he no longer needed Connor. Either way Abby was relieved to hear that he was simply snoring. Matt followed her cautiously reviewing the room but came to the same conclusion as Abby.

The room was like an obstacle course. Matt stepped over a pile of notes and narrowly avoided hitting the table when he tripped over something.

"What have you been up to Connor?" he murmured temporarily forgetting about his earpiece.

"What's going on?" chirruped Jess.

Becker silently marvelled at her ability to always sound bubbly and optimistic, even when concerned.

"Yes, what's going on?" echoed Lester from behind the solider.

Becker prayed that Jess would leave the talking to him. She was a rubbish liar.

No such luck.

"Well – erm – we're just –" she stuttered.

Becker scratched his ear, turning off his comm. in the process. A few seconds later Jess mirrored the action.

"We're just keeping an eye on Matt and Abby. They're acting strangely according to Jess." Becker interrupted.

"Just make sure they don't do anything I'll regret." Lester warned dryly.

James frowned, his team was acting weirdly according to his instinct, but then again in such a job when didn't they? Lester decided whatever they were doing he'd rather not get the blame and started to walk away. They were relatively good at sorting themselves out, although he'd never admit it.


	5. Chapter 5

Abby violently shook Connor as Becker reminded her that they had to leave. Connor jerked awake.

"Just watch out for Darth Burton!" he yelled before nervously realising where he was. Abby and Matt chuckled. "What are you guys doing here? If Phillip finds you I'm going to be in – "

"Never mind us, what are you doing here Con?" Abby asked in abruptly serious tones.

"I've been working on the solution."

"Solution to what?" cut in Matt.

"I can't tell you. Phillip doesn't want to alarm – "

"Danny asked me to pass on a message when he left. It was: Phillip is connected to Helen Cutter, he can't be trusted." Matt interrupted again.

The shock on Connor's face was plain to see.

"Phillip and Helen Cutter are nothing alike!" he denied.

"They both have a thirst for knowledge that threatens to destroy them!" argued Matt.

"But Phillip-"

"Tell us what's going on!" Abby demanded.

"Fine! You bullied the answer out of me. Last night I found out that the anomalies are multiplying; soon there will be thousands of them everywhere. I told Phillip, he took me here and – " he trailed off.

"And what?" persisted Matt, he knew more than anyone that every little detail mattered.

"I don't remember anything after that, he told me something important. I was very scared and then I was here and only my invention mattered."

"What invention?"

"It should be – " Connor began proudly. "- oh no."

He started searching the messy room but his contraption was missing. Eventually he emerged with a long metal tube in his hand. It had a jagged edge where it had been broken.

"Charming." Commented Jess as Connor started to swear.

"But it was right here!"

"Let's go Connor."

"But – "

"CONNOR!" shouted Abby, he was testing what little remained of her patience.

"Coming." He responded dutifully.

As the trio left the door Connor's stomach rumbled loudly.

"How long have you been working here for?" wondered Matt.

"Since yesterday evening up till now, must've forgotten to have breakfast." Connor wilted under Abby's glare. "Oops?"

He rubbed the sleep from his eyes. Despite his short nap Connor still felt drained. Abby noticed the dark circles under his eyes and softened towards him slightly. Only slightly however – he'd still chosen his boss over her.

"What's the best route out?" said Matt.

"I wish I knew." Connor muttered.

"Turn your earpiece on Connor!" Abby lectured.

Connor took it out from his pocket and placed it in his ear. He should've known that Bess and Jecker would be on the receiving end of this all.

"Hi." He greeted.

"Okay if you look to your right you should see an exit." Jess instructed.

Together they all turned to their right but witnessed something else instead. An anomaly glittered in the room next to Connor's and their greatest foe yet had just stepped through it.

"Oh my god!" Connor exclaimed.

"We may have a problem." Added Matt.

"May!"

"What's going on!" demanded Becker in frustration.

He hated being blind to danger.

"In the room to the right of this one Helen just stepped through an anomaly." Abby explained after a moment of stunned silence.

They watched in horror as Phillip strode towards her and handed her a remote. It had split away more cleanly from the rest of Connor's invention compared to the metal tube. There was no jagged edge this time.

"Connor, is that the device you and Abby used to escape the Cretaceous? The one you imploded that dinosaur with?" asked Matt.

It'd been the first time he'd met the pair. It was too impossible a memory to forget.

"Yes." answered Abby.

Connor was lost for words. His boss had stolen and vandalised HIS creation and now as giving it to the woman who murdered Nick Cutter.

"Maybe – maybe he's trying to trick her? Maybe he's trying to make her stay here long enough to be arrested?" Connor questioned, but the words sounded hollow even to his ears.

"No. This is a past version of Helen, he's helping her. Connor you of all people know what that remote allowed her to do!" Abby argued. "Her ability to make her own anomalies was part of what trapped us in the Cretaceous for so long!"

Connor stared at his feet. He'd made that remote. Not only had he misplaced his trust but he'd helped a psychopath and was singlehandedly responsible for trapping Abby in the Cretaceous. It'd been his fault before but only partly. Now he felt the whole incident was his responsibility. Somehow, some way he had to make this right. He wasn't sure which emotion was the most powerful: guilt, shock or hate.


	6. Chapter 6

To Abby's surprise Matt charged towards Phillip, Connor restrained him just before he could enter the room and cause a noticeable commotion.

"Matt?"

Abby looked into his eyes. She could see his rage. It mingled with emotions she could not understand – what did quiet Matt have to be sad about?

"You were right about Phillip from the start. He's a sick man!" Matt spat.

"Charging in there right now is not doing anyone any favours mate." Connor pointed out. "I'm going to let go of you now." Connor released Matt. "I had to watch Cutter die in my arms because of that woman." Connor said quietly. "I'm not letting anyone else die because of her."

As they descended down the stairs Matt's anger was converted to frustration. He was sure now that Phillip was _the one _he'd been searching so long for. _The one _he'd been sent to stop. How was he meant to get rid of the man if the others wouldn't even let him near? He was so close! Some pieces of the puzzle still didn't fit however.

"Connor can you remember anything about what Phillip told you yesterday?" he asked.

"No. I've been trying, I originally thought I couldn't remember because I was so tired – "

"You're still tired, it could be that." Abby mentioned. "When we get back home you're going to bed!"

"It had something to do with a project called New Dawn –" This time Connor's growling stomach interrupted his reverie. "Any chance of getting some lunch before bedtime?"

Abby smiled.

"What's New Dawn?" Matt interrogated.

"I'm not sure." Connor panted.

They'd been racing down the steps for a while now, keen to escape Prospero. He closed his eyes and put one hand on the wall to steady himself. Something about New Dawn wasn't right whatever it was, he had this gut feeling.

"You're so unfit Connor!" When he didn't reply Abby got concerned. "Are you okay?"

"Whoa yeah why wouldn't I be?" Connor responded a wave of dizziness briefly passed over him.

"You're shaking." Abby stated.

"Am I?"

Connor opened his eyes. He was very worried but why? His spare hand clasped itself round the metal tube and for some reason this calmed him. He started to continue down the stairs taking the lead so he wouldn't be able to see the other's expressions. Now he was the fastest person in the group. Abby and Matt exchanged glances.

The team escaped Prospero without incident much to everyone's surprise but there was still one more part of the plan to come. This time it was Connor's turn to curl up in the boot. He didn't bother arguing which shocked Abby to some extent. That was very unlike him. He nearly dozed off as Matt drove through the gate and they went home.

When they arrived at the flat and Abby guided Connor into the spare room they were using in Jess's place. Matt drove off towards his own home. Connor collapsed on the bed and fell asleep as soon as his head touched the pillow. He was completely knackered. Abby decided to make them some lunch for when he awoke.

Matt was pacing on his balcony. It had become a habit of late. He was pondering the mystery of New Dawn but thoughts of Emily kept distracting him. He remembered what his father had said about her and shook his head. Emily was even more distracting when she wasn't here. He almost missed having to fix the toaster.

Connor dreamt and in his dreams his memories started to come back to him.

"_This must be kept strictly between us you understand?" Phillip repeated once Connor was in the car by his side._

"_Yes, I guess." Connor agreed reluctantly, his brain searching for exceptions._

"_New Dawn has been my latest project for some time now. For years my scientists have been researching anomalies. A few weeks ago we made a huge breakthrough."_

"_When you say we've got to keep this to ourselves – can I tell Abby?"_

"_No! Especially not her." snapped Phillip in irritation._

"_Okay! Just checking."_

"_Ah we've arrived." Phillip announced. Connor got out of the car and stepped into Prospero. "This will be your room for the time being, please sit down."Connor regarded the room, it was ordinary enough. Then he spotted something bizarre and his mouth dropped open. "Please sit down." Phillip repeated impatiently. Connor was too busy gawping at the locked anomaly hovering above his desk to listen. Phillip rolled his eyes. He clicked his fingers and the armed guards (that Connor could've sworn weren't there before) came forwards. One shoved him down roughly onto the chair; the other passed him a drink. _

_Connor watched Phillip apprehensively. "Drink up." Connor wasn't too sure about this but he felt it'd be impolite and dangerously stupid to refuse the glass of wine in front of him at this critical moment. He'd like to stay sober whilst talking about work but considering the impending anomaly threat maybe he did need to have a drink. He took a tiny sip. Phillip seemed to relax slightly. "We discovered a way to preserve an anomaly. The one above your desk was a mere accident but now we think we know how to repeat it again as an experiment under controlled conditions."_

"_You sound like Helen. Anomalies are natural occurrences like the weather aren't they?"_

_Phillip made a fair show of being offended by this accusation. He was far more unique than Helen Cutter. He gestured at one of his men. The second guard punched Connor in the gut. As the young man doubled over gasping only now did he begin to understand the trouble he was in._

"_But imagine if you could alter a storm's course!"_

"_There's only so much change nature will allow! Remember Claudia Brown." gasped Connor._

"_She doesn't even have a file. Claudia Brown was a mere figment of a delusional imagination." Burton dismissed. "But what if you could change the path of a lightning bolt?"_

_Connor smiled, he knew the answer to that one. He made a loud explosion noise. Another fist came rocketing towards him..._


	7. Chapter 7

Connor woke up to find Abby sitting by his side. She'd removed his jacket which was just as well – the flat was boiling. She ran her hand down his arm.

"Connor?"

"Yes?"

"Where did these bruises come from?"

He looked down at his arm and sure enough it was covered in ugly purple blotches.

Connor glanced at the clock. He'd slept for a few hours at least. Time always passed so quickly in dreams.

"Erm...I think they came from Phillip's guards." Connor admitted awkwardly, he preferred it when he didn't remember. He looked away, not wanting to see Abby's expression, wincing slightly - great now he had a headache. Then Connor spotted the tray filled with lunch by the bedside and his face instantly lit up. "Brilliant! I could eat the entire wookie fleet right now."

Abby raised an eyebrow.

"Isn't that cannibalism?"

"Fine! I could eat an entire dinosaur-sized portion of cow vindaloo." he replied.

Abby laughed at the Red Dwarf reference then mentally scolded herself for knowing what he was on about. She'd been forced to sit through far too much of what Connor called 'education' but what she called a waste of time. That had been one of the few things Abby hadn't missed when he'd got more involved in work. She giggled again, Connor truly was eating his food like a T-rex. He smiled to himself at her reaction, mission accomplished.

"If you're going to eat like that then come over to the table. Jess will be mad if you cover her bed sheets in sauce and crumbs as well as yourself." Abby smiled.

Connor followed her over to the table chomping at a record rate. He felt much better eating, especially after a decent amount of sleep. He'd missed this; his work had been slowly taking over bit by bit but now he felt free to be with Abby. He looked into her eyes inbetween mouthfuls of spaghetti, she was so beautiful. How could he have neglected her?

He felt for the metal tube in his pocket as it usually seemed to reassure him but Connor was shocked to discover it was missing. He started to choke on a piece of chicken at this revelation and Abby had to whack him on the back. His eyes were watering which made it no easier to search for the remaining half of his invention.

"Abby can you see a brown metal tube with a jagged edge anywhere?" Connor gasped.

"Yes. It's on the sofa, I took it out of your pocket whilst you were asleep, it looked like it was digging into you." Abby explained. He let out a sigh of relief and she changed the subject. "Do you remember what happened with Phillip yesterday?"

"Yeah, I think so." he nodded, and then continued to eat in silence. Abby waited watching him expectantly. It took Connor a few seconds to cotton on."Do we have to talk about this now?"

"Yes! I've waited long enough."

"Okay, okay! I suppose it's best you hear it from me." he sighed. "Where do you want me to start?"

"From after you told Phillip what was happening with the anomalies and got to Prospero."

"Right. Well – " Connor started, he could feel his memories re-living the moment, continuing on from his dream.

_The fist slammed into his arm. The force of it nearly hurled Connor out of the chair. He stood and staggered towards the door, if this was what their meeting consisted of he didn't want to be part of it. The two guards followed him and another was already at the door to block his exit. Connor glanced down at his mobile phone but it appeared he was no longer in possession of it. He looked at the guards. The one in the doorway was holding his phone. Connor reached out for it but Phillip's words made him turn._

"_Connor, New Dawn has always been about new technology and the wonders of it. Specifically yours."_

"_What?" he grunted in pain._

"_You are a brilliant scientist; you don't know what you are capable of."_

_Connor went slightly red._

"_If I'm so awesome why are your guards beating up the talent?"_

"_Blake, George; leave us." Phillip commanded the guards._

_His voice was harsh and there was a fire in his eyes that Connor had never seen before. He beckoned to Connor who cautiously sat down once more._

"_What do you need me here for?" Connor questioned._

"_I'm sorry about those two. They're new and still don't fully understand what it is that we do here. New Dawn has been all about your arrival. It's about what you will do, what you will be and what you will become. I have seen the future and I know what I must do." Connor frowned, Phillip was speaking about _destiny. _How did he know anything about it? "You discovered the anomaly problem now you are going to solve it. Just tell me what equipment you need."_

_Connor opened his mouth, ready to argue that he didn't have a clue of what to do but he found that he did know what he needed. A solution was already forming in his head. Phillip smiled and if Connor hadn't been busy thinking of his invention he might've called Abby when his phone was handed back to him instead of simply tucking it in his trouser pocket._

"Of course when I saw Phillip and Helen together today I knew New Dawn was about a lot more than me. But by the time I considered questioning Phillip's reasoning I was far too gone." Connor finished.

"What do you mean 'too gone'?"

"I was focussing all my energy on the invention, a bit obsessively." he admitted. Abby snorted, she knew only too well what Connor could be like when working on a new creation. "I couldn't afford to get distracted."

But he knew in his heart it had felt like something more than that.

_As he worked he felt weighed down with an impossible load. The more he lifted the fuzzier his vision became and the headache worsened. It was as if the sky had come crashing down and Connor was the only one left to hold it up..._

"You said that Phillip gave you wine?" Abby double-checked.

"Yeah, what's that got to do with anything?" Connor asked.

He was surprised by Abby's sudden change of attitude.

"When did you start to feel weird?"

"Not at first. Initially I felt like I was ready for anything. It was only after our conversation that I began to feel exhausted."

"Connor – I think he drugged you."

"Even Phillip wouldn't – " Connor scoffed.

"Stop defending him! I thought you were on my side for once!" Abby pleaded desperately.

"It's just a bit unlikely..."

"Oh forget it. This is just like when you wouldn't help me save the creatures in the menagerie." Abby reminded bitterly.

She turned away from him to face the sofa. Connor regretted his words almost instantly. Even if the whole scenario she'd just thought up was a bit far-fetched in his opinion, it obviously mattered to her. And he had deserted her when it came down to the menagerie incident when she needed help most. Plus Connor knew Abby was very good at grudge holding. Better to appeal to her gentle side before the stubbornness took over.

He cautiously stepped towards her. Satisfied with the fact that she hadn't tried to hit him yet Connor started to apologise.

"I'm sorry. I should've stayed, I should've tried to talk some sense into Phillip – Lester shouldn't have had to step in." Connor amended.

As he spoke he cautiously lifted his hand, it hovered above Abby's shoulder as he fought with himself over whether it putting it down was a good idea or not. There was a long silence as she took this in. Connor decided that he didn't want to ruin his chances and soon his hand was back by his side.

"Tell me more about your invention."

Connor knew he wasn't fully forgiven yet. All the same he was thankful for the subject change. He knew what he was talking about when it came down to gadgets.

"It's meant to solve the anomaly crisis."

"I guessed that much." Abby deadpanned. Connor began to explain but Abby couldn't understand a word of what he was saying from that point onwards, the technical babble had her terribly confused. "Simplify please."

Connor frowned. As far as he was concerned that was simple. He tried again.


	8. Chapter 8

"There are two parts. The first is the tube on the sofa. It's designed to project a perfect replica of Cutter's matrix. This goes through to the second section. This then uses the data from the tube and opens the correct anomaly. The anomalies are having problems because they're unstable. They are all linked so the only way to balance them out is to open the correct anomaly, it should send out the frequency all anomalies emit along with the signature radiation."

"Anomalies have radiation?"

"Yes. It's completely harmless but the unstable ones send out a different type. There hasn't been enough of it to cause any problems yet. If you open a stable anomaly its radiation should level out the unstable ones - theoretically."

"So where's the second part?"

Connor hesitated. He didn't know how much more stress their relationship could take. Telling her about Helen's remote could be the last straw. On the other hand any more secrets would distance them all over again. Connor couldn't let that happen. He was whole when he was with Abby. He opened his mouth but simultaneously the phone rang. Abby assumed he had nothing left to say and picked it up.

"Abby you have to get down here!" Jess screeched urgently.

"Jess calm down! What's going on?"

"Lester's furious! I think Matt may have just got himself fired..."

"We'll be right there." Abby assured.

She snapped the phone shut and grabbed her coat from the hooks by the door. She chucked Connor his.

"Are we going somewhere?" he asked in a puzzled tone.

"The ARC." Abby stated.

"Right but I need to tell you – "

"Not now Connor!"

Connor watched as the love of his life left the flat. He should tell her the truth but would he ever have the time? He winced again, and leant on the sofa beside him. As far as headaches went this was a pretty painful one. Abby's head popped round the corner of the door.

"Come on then, don't just stand there!"

The pair burst into the ARC, halfway through the main control room they stopped mid-stride and stared. Lester was beetroot red with anger. Jess skipped over to them. From a distance Becker wondered how she could manage that in heels.

"I'm guessing from your expressions even you guys haven't seen Lester lose it like this before." She stated.

Connor and Abby nodded, lost for words.

Matt stood opposite Lester twice as annoyed but his automatic poker face kept his emotions concealed. All the years of hiding what he really felt had turned into instinct. He may have looked stoic, but inside his emotions were writhing like snakes.

"WHAT THE HELL DID YOU THINK YOU WERE DOING!" Lester screamed.

"Saving lives!" Matt repeated; his calm composure slipping bit by bit as he raised his voice.

"BY NEARLY KILLING ONE?"

Connor was surprised; Lester rarely put anybody's life over the ARC's mission. However that mission had changed a lot since he and Abby had been away. He wondered who Matt had 'NEARLY KILLED'.

"Everybody in the future is going to die unless I do something about it."

"OH NOW YOU'RE JUST BEING MELODRAMATIC!" The entire body of staff was watching the exchange by this point. "KILLING THE MULTI-BILLIONAIRE WHO KEEPS THE ARC RUNNING WILL SAVE NOBODY!"

Connor and Abby exchanged glances; Matt had tried to kill Phillip? Jess simply rolled her eyes. This was round two of the fight; she'd heard all their arguments already.

"I pushed him through an anomaly when I was aiming for the raptor beside it. You should be thankful!"

"What was Phillip even doing near an anomaly?" Abby whispered to Jess.

"Haven't you noticed the state of this place yet? The anomaly was in the ARC – in the armoury. The creature tore the room to pieces. Becker was lucky to remain intact!" Jess lectured, her eyes darting to him.

"I still think Matt's going to be shredded." Connor replied eyeing up Lester's stance.

"HE WAS AS GOOD AS DEAD! IF IT WEREN'T FOR CAPTAIN BECKER'S HEROICS BURTON WOULDN'T EVEN BE HERE!"

Becker stood by the doors that led to the armoury. One of them was shattered on the floor, the other hanging from a hinge. His hand rested on the handle whilst his nervous eyes constantly darted from Lester to Matt. Matt shot a scorching glare in his direction. Becker and Anderson had had their arguments but up till now none of them had ever truly hated the other.

"You'll never understand. The only person who did left yesterday and she's not coming back." Matt growled the resentment clear in his voice.

He turned, tucked his black box into his trouser pocket and stalked out of the door.

"Maybe she realised what she'd got herself into." Lester muttered with not a trace of sarcasm in his voice. He had no idea how lucky he was that Matt hadn't heard him. "DON'T BOTHER COMING BACK!"

"I WON'T!" yelled Matt in reply.

As he approached his car Matt was bombarded by thoughts of Emily. Her absence was gnawing away at his soul. Why had he let her go?

Lester started towards his office. He could feel all the eyes on him.

"What are you looking at? Don't you have work to be getting on with?" he asked his employees accusingly.

James greeted his paperwork like an old friend; for once he was glad of its distraction. He made a show of not looking out of the window. He knew what he'd be able to see anyways.


	9. Chapter 9

It took a several minutes for the natural ARC bustle to restore itself. Becker reluctantly released his grip on the door handle. It appeared that was all that was holding the door up, it crashed to the floor. As he walked towards Connor, Abby and Jess various members of the ARC staff swarmed into the armoury and began to clean up the hideous mess the creature had left in its wake.

"Was anybody hurt?" Abby asked him.

"No fatalities but the majority of my back up need stitches. I think we were lucky."

Abby pondered this, if Becker had needed back up then he'd probably gone off to stop the creature alone. She could imagine Jess had had something to say about that.

"Lucky? That anomaly materialised in the ARMOURY!" Jess snapped before storming towards the ADD.

"Why do I get the impression she's 'Matt' at you?" Connor joked.

He resisted the temptation to laugh when he saw the soldier's irritated expression. Abby too bit back a grin pitying the Captain and not wanting her boyfriend to be shoved into a bodybag.

"She's probably just upset about the amount of paperwork she has to do." Abby comforted.

"Maybe we had a bit of an argument before I dealt with the creature but it all worked out!" Becker exclaimed.

Connor remained oblivious to Becker's mood and opened his mouth to say something undoubtedly inappropriate but Abby stepped on his foot. He yelped.

"So – Lester mentioned your heroics, what happened in there?" Abby asked trying to cover up Connor's squeal with a question.

"Well-"

But Becker was interrupted by the blare of the anomaly alert. Abby whipped round to face Connor as they joined Jess.

"Sending you the coordinates – now!" Jess informed them.

"Connor there's been three anomaly alerts today already and it's barely 2 o'clock. What does this mean?"

"Night shifts if this keeps up." he noted wearily.

Connor absent-mindedly rubbed one eye. Abby looked at her miserable boyfriend and shuddered to think of what another sleepless night would do to him.

"Let's move." Becker commanded.

From the way the action man stood Connor got the feeling that this soldier would temporarily take up the place of team leader for the time being until they regained their old one.

Matt was busy wallowing in regret at his flat. He'd given away the one girl who could soothe the pain, had been kicked out of success, had let down his father and the future all in a couple of days. He knew moping wouldn't get him anywhere, but right now it felt good. It was around this time that he received the GPS co-ordinates for the next anomaly.

Matt prepared his equipment, this time he would not miss the opportunity if it came again. As he stepped into his car he received a text from Jess.

_You're still part of my team. Please don't let Becker take over._

This encouragement gave Matt some more energy. For once he had to forget about everything else and just get the job done like his father had told him.

Becker drove the team down to the anomaly site in a large black van. He liked black; it suited uniforms, guns and vehicles. Connor sat in the back seat sulking whilst his girlfriend was in the front by Becker. The soldier knew that Connor was the only grown man to keep count of who sat in the back and the numbers were against him. Becker was surprised that Abby wasn't sitting with him. He decided to not to comment.

The trip was fairly quiet; the loudest noise was Jess tittering away through the earpiece.

"We're nearly there." Becker announced.

Then a stray dinosaur wandered in front of their van.

"I can tell!" Abby exclaimed.

The creature was a couple of metres long approximately and its wide set eyes ensured good vision. Its body was tanned a faint yellow yet a blue stripe covered its back, tail, head and neck. It was relatively thin compared to other dinosaurs however its stomach jutted out up to thigh height. All Becker could register was the huge claws.

Abby gripped her seat tightly as the van veered to the left to avoid the newly found creature.

"That's a Troodon (TROH – oh – don) that is!" Connor yelled. "It's smart, quick and hungry from the looks of it!"

Becker heard this news and decided to take a belated retreat.

Abby screamed as the van spun off road and slowed to a stop. She let out a sigh of relief. Connor did too, he looked slightly green. Then a yellow claw smashed through her window. Becker stepped down on the accelerator once again. The van rocketed off. However this time it was dragging the Troodon with them. Abby struggled to avoid the retractable toe claw by her neck. How the creature had embedded its foot in the window she'd never know but she was terribly aware of its razor sharp claws.

"Becker stop! It's trapped, let's get out whilst we can!" she screeched.

Connor agreed, the last time a car chase with a dinosaur ensued he'd ended up as unconscious bait whilst Danny set up the trap. Not to mention he felt pretty car-sick. If he'd learnt anything from the past few years it was that seatbelts were there for a reason.

The van abruptly squealed to a halt. The trio took off their seatbelts and scrambled out of the car. Abby fell on all fours gasping, the claw had been virtually strangling her. Connor knelt beside her.

"Abby? Are you okay?"

"We need to tranquilize the creature or get out of here!" Becker reminded.

Connor helped Abby up and for a few seconds she stared at the Troodon.

"It's destroying the boot."

The dinosaur thrashed violently trying to escape; its strong arms beating down on the van. Connor raced to the back doors and swung them wide open. The guns were still in there, a small pool of daylight illuminated them. It was cast by the gaping hole the Troodon had made in the van wall. He winced at the sound of metal being scraped and torn. Shortly after, this was combined with the creature's angry shrieks.

"Connor what's the situation?" Becker called.

"The Troodon's made a hole big enough for several of our guns to fall out but there are plenty left."

"Well what are you waiting for?"

"Erm...there's a catch." Abby groaned. Connor watched in horror as the creature manoeuvred its torso through the hole. "It's not exactly safe." He added, before rubbing his temples.

"Connor guns are never safe yet you've happily misused them before!" Becker snapped misunderstanding the situation completely.

"I'd rather not risk it." Connor answered backing away from the doors.

"You're head of security – aren't you armed?" Abby questioned.

"Why didn't you shoot it earlier?" Connor commented.

"I was busy driving! Besides, these aren't tranquilizers; my bullets will only wound it, if that." Becker spat. He walked round the corner and fired a few shots to demonstrate that now he could do something useful. They missed. "Plus it won't stop wriggling around!"

"Shoot it!" Connor yelled.

Becker tried again but this time he gun jammed. He swore Jess tutted and suddenly the Troodon was silent.


	10. Chapter 10

The trio exchanged glances. Connor nudged Abby nervously.

"Ladies first."

Her glare motivated him. He peeked round the corner of the van ready to run. Connor was very good at running when it was called for, a headache and general tiredness wouldn't get in the way of that. Fortunately he had no need this time. The Troodon slumped; part of its sharp claw was embedded in the leather to the left of the window. It was unconscious and stuck fast. Matt stood in front of it toting his tranquilizer gun in triumph. Connor approached him.

"It's good to see you mate."

"Yeah, you too." Matt acknowledged.

Abby and Becker came round the van corner. Becker stiffened; Abby ran towards the pair then stopped unsure of how to greet her stoic leader.

"Hi." she greeted awkwardly.

She noticed he wasn't wearing a comm, but then again the man was technically not part of the ARC so it was no longer necessary for him to wear it whilst in the field.

"It's about time you showed up!" Jess chirped reading everyone's reactions correctly.

"Sorry I'm late, traffic was horrendous. Let's go to the anomaly."

"You know where it is?" said Becker finally.

"Yes."

Matt thought carefully about the culprit as he drove the van - it contained the Troodon. The leader was running through a mental checklist. Abby would never hurt anyone or have the know-how to affect the anomalies. She was definitely safe. Connor wouldn't willingly harm anyone; he'd want to protect Abby, however Phillip had been leading him astray. The geek could be a culprit but Matt simply couldn't envision it. As for Becker? He'd _saved _Phillip knowing the man couldn't be trusted. He was their 'security'. Matt stopped fantasising. If anything he was making himself more paranoid. He sounded like his father; the only people he knew were innocent for sure were Abby and Emily - along with Ethan of course if only in some respects of the word.

He was surprised Connor wasn't mad at him for attempting to kill the boss. Then again their reunion had been far too brief to have had time for bitterness. Becker however had been another story. After a vicious argument between him and Jess he'd given in to Matt's control as the leader did at least know where the anomaly was. Matt smiled, how couldn't he know it? The anomaly led back home.

He'd checked, the future hadn't changed yet. It was still the same old hellhole he'd left behind. Matt wanted to at least make Abby understand his predicament before he became a killer. It was at times like these that he_ really_ missed Emily. Maybe he could go find her once this was all over and done with. The Troodon probably came from a different anomaly nearby that led to the Cretaceous but he knew that the one he'd visited was more of a threat.

"Matt we're going the wrong way." Becker pointed out.

"There are two anomalies, trust me this one is the problem."

"Fine!" Becker humphed and leant over Matt putting his foot on the peddle.

The car stopped.

"You know you could've just asked." Connor said.

"Connor come with me, Abby keep an eye on Matt." Becker commanded stepping out of the van.

"Where are we going?" asked Connor nervously as the van drove away, regretting his response already as his eyes focussed on Abby's face through the broken window.

"To the anomaly that we were commissioned to."

So they started walking in an uncomfortable silence.

The van arrived at the second anomaly barely five minutes after the group had split up. Abby climbed out of it with the extra locking mechanism. After this morning's near disaster they'd packed spares. Matt's car sat beside the glittering anomaly just where he'd left it. Fortunately for the others he'd only been a walking distance away from their yells. All the same he'd felt safer in the shell of the van.

The creature stirred, Matt shot it again for good measure. Abby began to set up the locking mechanism. She was no expert but Jess's mentoring and her past experience taught her the basics.

"Abby I need to show you something." Matt announced.

She looked up at him curiously. Matt went through the anomaly before she could stop him.

"Jess I'm going to go offline for a minute." she informed, the urgency clear in her tone.

"What? Why?"

"If I don't reply in half an hour's time send the boys over."

"Abby what are you –"

But Jess's voice trailed off into static as Abby stepped through the anomaly. The sensation felt like pins and needles and she felt an insane urge to giggle. Matt took her hand and she sobered up considerably. She was on the other side.

All Abby could do was gape as she looked down through the smoggy brown atmosphere. The place was a scrap yard. The little light there was illuminated wrecks of human civilisation. The cold wind cut through Abby like a knife. All around them were craters. Three holes surrounded the nearest remains of a building. The rubble seemed to shelter them from the harsh wind.

She started to cough. Matt shoved her back through the anomaly. He cast a final glance at his home before following her back through.

"What is that place?" she gasped promptly collapsing.

"I'm sorry; I forgot how the fog pollution can damage. You were only breathing it in for a few minutes so you should be fine." he spoke as he knelt beside her.

"You didn't answer my question. Besides, how come you're okay?"

"It's my home and your future. I've adapted." he explained taking out her earpiece. "Something big is going to happen with the anomalies. It turns this place into _that_. I grew up underground, bits of pollution seeped through our ceilings but never enough to kill. Those three holes you saw lead to my remaining family."

"Why aren't you with them?"

"I was one of the few people chosen to be sent back at different points in time to prevent the change. I have to do whatever it takes to stop it."

"On your own? How old were you?" Abby asked in concern.

Matt couldn't bear those sympathetic eyes. He didn't deserve them; he just needed to get the job done.

"My father travelled with me. He's dead now. It's ironic that natural causes got to him before anything else." he deadpanned, concealing all emotion.

"Why didn't you tell anyone about your 'job'? We could've helped you!"

"The change could be made by anyone. There are very few people I can trust."

Abby was glad that Matt at least trusted her.

"You told Emily didn't you."

It was a statement, not a question.

"She's not important." said Matt although his heart screamed otherwise, quoting his father did not make the lies any less brutal.

Abby raised an eyebrow; she knew how close the pair had been.

"Don't you trust Jess?"

"She's too close to Becker and a rubbish liar. He'd wheedle the truth out of her in ten seconds flat. Plus the comms record everything we say."

"Why don't you trust Becker?"

"He saved Phillip."

"Connor would've done the same."

"I don't trust him either."

"Matt – " Abby began.

"I just wanted you to understand why I have to kill Phillip."

"Kill!"


	11. Chapter 11

Meanwhile Connor was trying to strike up a conversation in order to break the awkward silence as he and soldier boy strode across the field trying to find the road once again. He asked the question that had been on everyone's mind – especially Jess'. For a minute she forgot about the temporary disappearance of Abby and Matt and focussed on listening.

"What happened with Phillip at the ARC?"

"You heard Lester well enough." Becker grunted.

"His yells weren't that detailed. Please tell me?"

"No."

"Pretty please?"

"No."

"Abracadabra!"

"What?"

"It's the magic word."

Jess laughed.

"If I tell you will you stop pestering me?" Becker grumbled.

"Yes!" chirped Connor.

Becker sighed, an enthusiastic Connor meant disaster - or clumsiness at the very least. He was not a superstitious man but Connor made him long to touch wood at all times.

"Matt pushed Phillip through the anomaly and I went in after him. I wasn't going to let anyone pull a 'Danny' on my watch." Connor laughed at the reference but Becker's tone was deadly serious. "As soon as I was through I could hear a roar echoing through the pre-historic plains. Phillip was nowhere to be seen. I followed the sounds afraid of what I might find."

"Well? What did you see?"

"Phillip. The creature I'd heard was nearby but it hadn't attacked him yet."

"What did it look like?" Connor asked.

"Luckily for us we never found out. I told him we had to get back to the anomaly. At first he resisted muttering something about needing to find her but he eventually gave in. I dragged him back over to the anomaly."

"Then what!" Becker glared at Connor's innocently eager expression. A grown man shouldn't know how to act like a two year old during storytime. "Shutting up." Connor amended.

"Just as I pushed the man through I thought I caught a glimpse of someone familiar but I couldn't stick around, the screeches were approaching. I dived through and the anomaly closed behind me."

"Who did you see?"

"An idiotic boss. What was he doing in the armoury in the first place?"

"No I mean the other person."

"You won't believe me. I don't believe me!"

"Just tell him Becker!" cut in Jess taking them both by surprise.

She's been so quiet they'd virtually forgotten that she was there.

"Try me." said Connor.

"Helen Cutter."

"B-but how?" Jess stuttered.

Connor was shocked too but not surprised, this was only the second time he'd heard of the troublemaker today.

_Phillip is connected to Helen Cutter._

The progressed towards the anomaly in silence as Connor pondered this. Suddenly his phone went off. The ringtone of TARDIS brakes startled everyone. He plucked it from his pocket and answered.

"Hello? Connor Temple here."

"Connor it's Phillip." Becker's eyes widened, he and Jess could hear every word through the comms."Where were you this morning? We have work to do!"

"Hold please." Connor responded promptly smothering the phone with his hand. "What do I say?"

Becker shrugged; this was not part of his job description. Fortunately it was around this time that Matt and Abby came back online.

"What's the situation?" asked Matt.

Jess sighed in relief.

"Where've you two been? Phillip just called, _what do I say!_" Connor repeated in exasperation.

Abby was the first to reply.

"Tell him there was an emergency."

"What kind?"

"I don't know just make it up!"

Connor groaned and started talking to Phillip again.

"Sorry it was a – family emergency." Abby rolled her eyes. Connor covered the phone again. "Now what?"

"Keep him talking. We're coming over." Matt decided. "The rest of us have to stay completely silent – if we can hear Phillip talking to Connor the communication might work both ways."

Connor uncovered the phone.

"Sorry about that – you were saying?"

"Connor, what does one family crisis matter when the world is at stake? Come down to your office. In a few hours time you've achieved what my scientists have been trying for months!"

"Remind me again, what exactly have I achieved?"

"Don't be modest! You've created the first ever anomaly that we can control. One that won't dare to randomly appear in your office again!"

"What!"

Matt put his hand over Abby's mouth to stop her from crying out in shock. Becker's bewilderment however mirrored Connor's. He was just as surprised as everyone else.

"This anomaly we can move, we can close, we can open, we can predict – "

"Can you make it dance?" Connor interrupted.

Jess stifled a snigger.

"Just make sure you get down here quick. This is something you have to see!"

Phillip Burton hung up. There was a short silence.

"Connor is there something you're not telling us?" Abby asked discerningly.

"I told you everything I remembered!" Connor exclaimed desperately.

"Phillip must be bluffing." Becker decided.

"But what if he isn't?" Connor panicked.

"It's either that or he's done something to make you forget half of what you did last night." Matt commented.

"I told you he might've drugged you!" Abby reminded although her tone was far from smug.

"But I feel fine!" A searing pain suddenly hit Connor in the head like a physical blow. He staggered backwards and blinked his eyes. Rubbing his sore head he winced, the headache had definitely gotten worse.

"Connor?"

Becker approached the young man with a look of concern on his face.

"Okay I take that back. Ow."

"Connor are you alright?" Abby asked.

"Y-yeah just a headache."

"We need to find out what Phillip's up to and stop it."

"What about the anomalies?" said Becker.

"Ours has been dealt with." Matt and Abby exchanged glances both remembering the conversation well. "We'll be with you in a few minutes – then Connor and Abby can go down to Prospero."

Predicting and ignoring the protests Becker continued.

"Connor can find out what Phillip's up to, Abby can protect him this time round."

The leader's reasoning made sense. Becker was starting to warm towards Matt again.


	12. Chapter 12

"Exactly." Matt confirmed.

Connor was tempted to make a joke about the married couple finishing each other's sentences but another wave of pain made him gasp instead.

"That sounds like one hell of a headache!" Abby acknowledged.

Connor nodded forgetting that she couldn't see him and instantly regretted it. If anything he felt hungover, but far worse than usual (and for Connor that was saying something).

"H-how will I get Abby into Prospero and past Phillip without him noticing?" Connor breathed. "He told me especially not to tell Abby about my work!"

"Well you succeeded didn't you!" Abby snapped.

She knew it was unfair for her to be angry over something her boyfriend didn't tell her when he didn't even remember doing it. All the same...

"I'm sure you'll think of something." Jess reassured rather ineffectively.

"Yeah right. I haven't had a proper night's sleep, I've done drugs, now I'm receiving splitting headaches and you want _me _to come up with a plan?"

There was silence all round as Becker and Connor walked on.

"Do you have a better idea?" said Becker.

In front of them shone the silver anomaly. Connor never tired of these amazing gateways but today was the exception. Tonight he'd try and go to bed early, if work allowed it. Connor rubbed his eyes, then jumped backwards as another Troodon lumbered towards him. That was when Abby and Matt arrived, crashing the van into the creature. It dropped to the ground, stunned by the blow. Connor took a few minutes to take everything in before running over to the van.

"Abby!" he called.

"What?" she asked.

"Oh thank god!"

Abby stepped out of the van and was followed by a slightly dazed looking Matt.

"Is everyone okay?" Becker asked.

"A few bumps and bruises but the air bag did its job." replied Matt as Connor hugged his girlfriend.

"You sure you're fine?"

"Connor stop fussing!" Abby scolded.

"You two take my car. I parked it –" Matt paused. Where had he parked his car again? Oh yes, by the other anomaly. Feeling a bit stupid he backtracked. "-oh. Jess can you send someone down here to pick these two up?"

"Sure, I'll do it myself." Jess chirped, glad to be of use as she grabbed her car keys.

For some strange reason that he could not define Becker found that he didn't like this idea one bit.

It didn't take Jess long to arrive in her convertible. She was glad to be included in the fieldwork if only as transportation. Plus it meant that she got to see Becker. As Connor and Abby stepped in she tried to look at anything but him. Theoretically she knew she should still be angry with Becker yet she'd already broken the rule of not looking at him. Fortunately Connor broke her out of her reverie.

"To Prospero-usness!" he exclaimed.

Abby smiled and Jess put her foot down.

Back at the anomaly site Becker realised the source of his annoyance. He didn't like to put innocent civilians in danger. In this case Jess. She wasn't any old civilian – not to him anyways.

"Let's get these creatures back through the anomaly." said Matt.

Becker shunted his feelings to one side, he had a job to do.

It was oddly quiet in the car. For a while Connor had chatted animatedly abuot how to get into Prospero before wearing himself out and dozing off. His head was on Abby's shoulder as softly snored. He seemed uncomfortable in his sleep, a mixture of a wince and grimace permanently stretched across his face. They drove on in silence listening to Matt and Becker's situation through the comms. It sounded like they were doing reasonably well, they'd shunted the various Troodons back through the anomaly without incident and now Matt was retrieving the anomaly locking device. Having been in the van's boot it was very nearly crushed by the Troodon and looked slightly worse for wear. Matt nervously noted a few wires hanging out from the device as he gingerly picked it up. As he emerged from the van even Becker eyed the gadget cautiously. It was not in good shape. Matt set the locking device down.

"Right. How do I lock the anomaly?"

"Open the lid." Jess instructed.

"It's already open." Matt and Becker chorused.

Abby smirked.

"Oh. Okay then – "

"Press the largest button down, hard." Abby finished.

Matt struck the button. The machine's loose wires sparked and fizzled but nothing happened to the anomaly. The pair exchanged glances.

"Abby wake Connor up, we need his help."

Abby obliged, giving her boyfriend a powerful shove. Connor spluttered awake.

"HELEN!" he yelled. His eyes were wide with panic and he thrashed not realising where he was. "I never meant to help you, Phillip's your uni chum why don't you ask him?"

Abby grabbed Connor's waving arm. This seemed to jerk him from his nightmare. He went silent.

"Connor?" Abby whispered. "How much of what you just said was true?"

He opened his mouth.

"Connor the locking device isn't working." Matt cut in. "Any suggestions?"

Connor answered instantly, grateful for the interruption.

"Is there anything out of place on it?"

"Well there's several loose wires that keep on sparking –" Becker began.

"What colour are the wires?" asked Connor.

"Green." said Matt.

"Ah! That should be simple enough to fix, just replace them."

"With what?" questioned Matt dubiously.

"I usually keep spare technical equipment in the back of the van but – "

"I didn't know you were that organised Connor." Jess commented.

" – the Troodon will have probably destroyed it."

"So what do we do?"

"You need a conductor. Anything metal should do the trick."

Abby watched Connor as he related the instructions. He was in his element but he still hadn't responded to her question. There was a pause whilst Matt and Becker rebuilt the wiring of the locking device.

"Connor."

"Yes?" he said, facing her.

"Answer my question. Was that true?"

Connor remembered Helen's remote. He knew it was his fault and it made sense for the Philip part to be true.

"Yes." He replied removing the comm. He didn't want everyone to hear this argument. "Abby let me explain, I was going to tell you – "

"When!" Abby shouted.

"I tried to back at the flat but you were out the door before I could say anything!"

"Put your earpiece on, I want everyone to hear this!" Abby screeched.

"Look I'm not proud of it but I wasn't in my right state of mind – how was I supposed to know any better?"

"Tell me the TRUTH!"


	13. Chapter 13

"You want the truth? Fine! I built the solution to the anomaly problem by trapping an anomaly in my device to power it. The slits on the sides project its light to create the map of anomalies. Whilst I was working I accidentally knocked Phillip's jacket. I picked it up along with a picture that fell out. It showed a younger version of Helen. They were happily hugging in front of a university. I didn't make anything of it at the time. I finished making the solution and conked out. When I woke up only half of it was left. Someone had broken it in two. Then I saw Helen in the room next door after you guys came to the rescue, the anomaly remote she held was the other half of my invention."

Abby stared at him, she was speechless. Connor couldn't bear those betrayed eyes boring into him. It made his guilt _and _his headache much worse.

Jess concentrated on driving. She felt a bit sorry for Connor if anything. He was taking Abby's full blame when it had hardly been his fault. As far as she was concerned Phillip and Helen were the real problem.

"I don't believe this!" Matt muttered.

Connor's rant had been loud enough for the girl's comms to pick it up. So Phillip and Helen had gone to university together, it made sense but it also meant that knew each other far better than Matt had feared.

"We're here." Jess called.

Connor stepped out into the ARC car park. They had to take his car to Prospero so they wouldn't raise any suspicion. Jess dashed into the ARC leaving Connor and Abby alone together. He put on his comm.

"I'm sorry guys. I'll do everything I can to make this right."

"Connor you said your solution was broken in half, do you still have the other part?" asked Matt.

"Yes."

"Destroy it."

"What!"

"If Helen can use one half to wreak havoc who knows what the other part is capable off!" he explained.

Connor reluctantly took out the metal tube from his pocket. He lifted it high above his head, ready to smash it to the ground.

"Connor stop!" yelled Abby, not knowing how she could've been so blind. "That's the artefact!"

Becker's eyes widened. He remembered that troublesome object only too well. Connor froze. Abby took the invention from his hands as he slowly lowered them.

"I was searching so long for Cutter's answer and it was right in front of me all this time." he breathed in bewilderment.

Matt remained unperturbed.

"You're about to go into Prospero, the artefact in the wrong hands could potentially – "

"He knows what he's doing." Abby interrupted.

"I do!" spluttered Connor.

Jess rushed back outside shortly after this revelation, unaware of what the others had discovered.

"Hey Connor thought you might want an aspirin before you go."

He was too shell-shocked by the artefact to respond. Abby glanced at him and promptly took over.

"I'll make sure he takes one. Thanks Jess." she replied, taking the box. She gave Connor a shove which seemed to bring him down to Earth.

"Thanks Jess." he murmured before getting into the car.

"Good luck you two!"

Matt and Becker said it too, through the comms but Abby was still worried as she climbed into the boot for the second time that day.

It didn't take them long to get to Prospero. The guards recognised Connor even before he showed them an ID and waved him in. They parked and Abby was able to escape from the claustrophobic darkness again. Connor opened his mouth, Abby popped in the aspirin and waited for him to swallow.

"Thanks." he muttered sheepishly.

Abby smiled. She couldn't stay angry at him when he had that cute dimple at his disposal. Besides, they were about to right any wrongs he'd committed.

"Do we have a plan?" she asked.

"I meet Philip; you keep an eye on me."

Connor's words echoed through Abby's head as she watched him greet Philip. She had the perfect view from the ventilation shafts.

"Connor! It's time you witnessed the true achievements of your work. Come with me." Philip announced.

He smiled but it didn't reach his eyes.

"Are we going to see my anomaly?" asked Connor.

"No, we're going to see something the company made."

Phillip smiled and started to lead the way down a bone white corridor.

Abby scrambled to keep up. It was difficult crawling around in such a confined metal space without making any noise. She would've lost track of them round the corner if Connor hadn't stopped moving.

"Connor?" Phillip called.

Connor closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

"Sorry I'm just tired. You had me up working all night remember?"

"It'll be worth it when you see this."

Connor started walking again winking in Abby's direction as soon as his boss was facing away. She smiled. He was getting better at improvising.

He continued down the hall at a slow walk in the hope that acting tired would help his girlfriend keep up. Finally he turned the corner. Connor stood and stared, his mouth agape with a thousand questions just waiting to be asked. Abby, perched in the ventilation shaft, was equally shocked. Together they gazed at the swirling darkness before them. A person-sized anomaly glittered in front of them but it was not ordinary, it glowed a deep black. Phillip had finally managed to contaminate the natural beauty of an anomaly. It was fringed by shards of black crystal that seemed to be the main product of the anomaly's exploitation. Connor could sense the powerful magnetic field tugging at his car keys. He clutched them tightly, battling against the unusually strong force. Abby too could feel the anomaly's field stretching out to suck at her mobile phone loosely secured in a trouser pocket.

"This is the anomaly that's going to change the world." said Phillip proudly.

Connor didn't like the sound of that. Inside his head he compared the black anomaly to the magnificent terror of the Death Star. The anomaly beat it hands down. He eyed it nervously.

"How did you manage this?" Connor asked.

"Without your input I would have never got this far. The technicians helped me tweak some of your ideas and here is the result."

Connor gulped. He had a lot to correct. Even now the anomaly seemed to writhe uncomfortably like a snake.

"It looks unstable."

"That's nothing we can't fix." replied Phillip assuredly. Abby frowned. How could it be fixed? Connor wasn't convinced either. "Look I'll prove it to you. Simmons!"

A young man's head poked up from behind a heap of Prospero equipment. He reminded Abby of Connor when she'd first met him.

"Yes sir?"

"It's time to test that process we discussed."

"Ah okay. Hold on a minute."

The man ducked down and there was a sound of buttons being pressed and switches flicked. At first the anomaly was unresponsive but then a zap of electricity hit it and it shrunk, ever so slightly at the edges. It was not enough to ease Connor's conscience however.


	14. Chapter 14

"What are you going to use this anomaly for?" he said.

"Experimental purposes." Phillip responded. "Let's just say I want to keep a friend of mine alive."

Connor was confused until an old foe stepped out from behind the Prospero machinery. She joined Phillip.

"Helen."

She looked young.

"Hello Connor."

"What are you doing here?"

Helen smirked. Last time she'd seen the geek he seemed so naïve and innocent, but now he possessed the angry bitterness of an adult. In a way he reminded her a little of her husband.

"I'm here to supervise New Dawn. Oh and thanks for this gadget by the way." she sneered gesturing to the anomaly remote in her hand. Connor reached out to grab it but Helen pulled away. "Tut tut. No snatching."

Connor looked at Phillip. Abby's heart broke as she saw the lost expression on her boyfriend's face.

"Why?" he said.

"I've known Helen for several years now. We've shared theories, science and friendship. I used to say she was my New Dawn; did you know that Dawn is her middle name?" he chuckled. "It only made sense to name this project after her."

Abby glared at Burton. How dare he use Connor!

"I knew you were the only genius stupid enough to inadvertently help me Connor." added Helen.

He tried to ignore her but Abby could tell that he was affected by her words.

"What's the anomaly for?" he said.

"Changing the world. It's our little controlled experiment. Phillip has told me that in the future I die. If we alter the right moment in time we can prevent my death."

"Time doesn't work like that. You change one thing no matter how small and it affects everything else."

"You sound just like Nick."

"Actually I got that from Doctor Who."

Abby grinned at Helen's taken aback expression but it didn't take her long to recover.

"Either way you both sound like a stuck record."

"Why did you invite me here in the first place Phillip?"

"Because nobody has gone through our anomaly yet." answered Helen.

She was about to shove Connor towards it but Abby forgot to hold onto her mobile. The magnetic field of the anomaly sent it slamming onto the metal surface of the ventilation shaft. Everybody looked up. Abby decided it was time to make her presence known.

She kicked out the grating below her and swung down through the hatch feet first (after wrenching her phone from the wall). Much to her pleasure her foot connected with Phillip Burton. In fact, she virtually landed right on top of him. Abby dodged Helen's fist, took Connor's hand and together they ran. This time Helen was chasing _them._

"Connor?" Abby gasped.

"Yes?"

"Are you crossing your fingers?"

"No." he said far too quickly.

"Connor I'm holding your hand, remember?" Abby reminded him.

"Oh. Well, there's no harm in a little extra luck."

Behind them Phillip must've recovered from Abby's landing. They could hear his voice in the distance yelling for security to do their job. Unfortunately for them Helen was not far behind the pair. She was much better at tailing them than they'd ever been with her. Connor couldn't help but think that maybe Phillip wouldn't need to worry about security with her around.

Abby turned on her comm. and passed Connor his, they were going to need all the help they could get.

"Matt are you there? We're stuck in Prospero." she panted.

"I'm here, just got back from our latest incursion. What's Phillip up to?"

Abby was slightly surprised that he was allowed in the ARC but continued the conversation all the same.

"You were right Matt. He's created this black anomaly that he claims will prevent Helen's death." Abby explained.

"It's very unstable and dangerous. Not to mention bound to backfire!" Connor said.

"He's going to kill everyone!" Matt muttered angrily.

A bizarre squealing noise buzzed through the comms like a siren. The team winced.

"I've got the Prospero blueprints!" screeched an overjoyed Jess.

"Becker have you been giving her chocolate again?" Lester's snarky voice said in the background.

"Sorry, you have no idea how long I've been trying to access these things for." she apologised.

"Can you use them to get Connor and Abby out of there?" asked Becker.

"Maybe. Where are you two?"

"Fourth floor." said Abby.

"We're just coming up to some lifts," added Connor. The lift door opened to reveal a group of armed security. "But I think we should take the stairs."

They kept running from the growing troop of security swarming the building.

"Coming up on your left should be a fire exit, it'll lead you straight out of Prospero." Jess told them.

"I see it."

Abby glanced behind them. Somehow they'd managed to lose Helen. Fortunately for them the corridor was relatively empty. A scientist opposite them wheeled a trolley to a room. She left it outside as she went in to set up. The couple exchanged meaningful glances and then ducked behind the trolley. Barely seconds later a group of uniformed men rushed past. Connor and Abby could only catch glimpses of their faces inbetween the chemicals on the trolley. Then the pair emerged from their crouched hiding place and raced to the fire exit.

"That's a lot of steps!" exclaimed Connor.

"Better get going then." said Abby.

She lead the way down the long spiral staircase.

Meanwhile Helen slowed to a stop in the corridor. She could hear the security men noisily checking out the next turning. However her time in the past had taught her one thing: to trust her instincts and right now they were telling her she was close.

Security was on one side, her the other; Connor and Abby were effectively boxed in so where could they have gone? Helen looked around. The fire exit of course.

Connor panted. You'd think that after all of his work at the ARC he'd be pretty fit. No such luck.

"I officially hate steps." He announced.

"Be quiet Connor you'll give us away!" Abby hissed.

She seemed to be having little trouble steps-wise.

"We'll be fine."

"Not if you keep yapping on!" Abby argued.

What with the couple having been together for so long Connor's confident statement made her long to touch wood. A difficult thing to do on a metal staircase.

Suddenly they heard footsteps on the steps above. Abby gave Connor an 'I told you so' look and they both glanced up. Then they started to run. Their combined steps on the metal rang out loudly. Helen laughed, this was too easy.

"Oh give it up!" she called. "You'll be surrounded in minutes!"

She was lying through her teeth but they didn't know that. Helen watched as they sped up. One of them was bound to trip. It'd probably be clumsy Connor. All the same Helen began to race after the pair.

"How are you doing?" cut in Matt completely oblivious to Helen's yells.


End file.
